The Rescue
by Red Tigress
Summary: One-shot. Pepper was never one to give up. Even in the face of A.I.M.


_A/N: Thanks to everyone at TBB for the betas. Inspired by my FEELS of BAMF Pepper from the new IM trailer this week. NOT a fic about the RESCUE !_

Pepper coughed weakly, blinking the dust from her eyes. Something heavy lay across her torso and she felt something warm and sticky on her legs. The same sensation was on her face. She ached all over, but she moved a shaking hand to her forehead, pulling it away to see the dark crimson of blood on her fingertips. She pulled her elbows behind her, wincing as she raised her torso.

Tony was lying across her midsection, his face facing away from her. She could see his back move as a result of rapid breathing.

"Tony," she gasped before she started coughing some more, a wave of dizziness assaulting her. She took a few deep breaths to clear her head, before reaching forward to take Tony by the shoulders. As gently as she could, she moved him off her legs. She felt her face pale as she saw the pool of blood that had turned her gray skirt black. She could feel it dripping down her legs, but she didn't feel any pain around her midsection or thighs. She turned back to Tony, gasping at the hole in his dress shirt. She gently peeled it back, revealing a jagged tear in his abdomen that was almost black with blood.

She struggled to keep from vomiting, tearing off her suit jacket as fast as she could. She balled it up, pressing it over the wound. Tony stirred minutely, but didn't open his eyes. His own breaths seemed as loud as a hurricane in the eerie silence of the building.

She felt the beginnings of tears sting at her eyes as she fumbled for her phone. They had been attacked on Stark Industries' property, but she still carried it on her person at all times. She had no idea how wide the damage was, or if they were the only people involved. She just remembered laughing at some stupid joke Tony made as they walked through one of the underground tunnels towards a warehouse. Tony was there to inspect some hardware prototypes and she was tagging along to make sure he stayed on task. The next thing she knew, there was the sound of a distant explosion and the tunnel shook. Then the ceiling began to crumble and Tony threw himself over her.

The tunnel wasn't that far underground. She could see shafts of daylight filtering down, lighting up the thick cloud of dust still hanging in the air. She finally managed to pull out her phone while keeping one hand on the jacket. She glanced briefly at it. There were multiple alerts, but no one had called her. She tried calling security, but there was just a busy signal. She tried calling 911, but her call wouldn't go through. She spared one look at Tony before she texted Jarvis.

_Attacked at SI. Help_

Thirty seconds later, her phone rang.

"Hello?" she gasped.

"Miss Potts, stay calm. AIM is attacking SI, and jamming phone signals."

She felt a smidgeon of tension leave her body when she heard Phil Coulson's voice.

"Is Mr. Stark with you?"

"Yes," she panted. "But he's hurt. There's a hole in his side and I'm trying to stop the bleeding, but I don't know-"

"SHIELD has a team on the ground, and are trying to get to you. But there's a huge contingency of AIM agents between them and you. You may have to pull him to safety."

"Okay," she breathed. "Okay. I can…I think…"

"Pepper," Phil said, grounding her. He hardly ever used her first name. "Tie up his wound as best you can. You will have to move. My surveillance shows multiple agents heading your direction."

Her heart rate quickened even more if that was possible, and she ripped the sleeves off her blouse. She tied them around his waist, holding her jacket in place over the grisly wound that lurked beneath. He whimpered in pain, but still didn't wake up. She was starting to hear voices close by so she pulled herself to her feet, swaying dangerously. She took one step, her foot almost twisting out from under her. She cursed, pulling off her heels. It was going to hurt, but her non-sensible shoes were next to useless. Leaning down, she wrapped her hands under Tony's arms, pulling him over the rubble on the floor further down the tunnel.

Tony was smaller than Thor, or Steve, or even Clint, but it didn't make him light. She grunted as they moved along slowly, stray bits of stone and concrete biting into her feet. She worked out. She had to, or eight hours a day sitting in meetings would institute in her a permanent form of lethargy. But everyone struggled with dead weight. She tried as hard as she could not to jostle his stomach as well. The sounds coming from Tony were alternating between wheezes and whimpers now, and Pepper's heart broke every time she heard one.

She kept the phone in its holder on her waistband, the line to Phil still open and on speaker. He gave her an encouraging word from time to time, but she was sure he heard the pained sounds from Tony coming over the line.

There was shouting from somewhere ahead of her, and she caught the bright yellow of an AIM uniform. It seemed the agent caught sight of her as well, because he began running towards her and shouting. She pulled Tony behind a large piece of rubble, searching for a weapon. Her fingers wrapped around a large metal pipe that had fallen from somewhere in the ceiling.

"Surrender now, and I will not hurt you, woman!"

Cocky son of a bitch.

"Okay, okay, just…don't hurt me, please," she called out from behind her boulder.

She heard the footsteps coming closer. When they were only about a foot away, she shot up, swinging the pipe savagely at his head. The A.I.M. agent grunted and listed to one side, and she swung the pipe again. There was a crack, and the agent fell on the ground unmoving.

"Pepper?" Phil asked.

She was breathing heavily, and she tossed the bloody pipe aside. "I'm fine," she assured him. "He's down, but he's alive," she growled, surprising herself. She didn't think she would take such pleasure in bashing a man's skull in, she felt justified after another glance at Tony. The balled up jacket was now tinged red, and his breathing was slower. "We don't have long, Phil," she said quietly, leaning down to grip Tony's arms again. "Just a little longer, Tony," she whispered.

She heard the sounds of battle above her, but kept pulling Tony along. She pulled him over a particularly jagged piece of rubble, alarmed when he didn't make a sound. She gently put his arms down, inspecting the bandage. The sleeves had come loose, no longer holding the jacket in place and she could see the torn red flesh underneath. She moved it back in place and lowered her head over Tony's nose and mouth. The barest whisper of a breath tickled her cheek, and she felt tears starting to run down her face again.

"Phil," she cried. "We need help! He's barely breathing."

"Help's on the way, just sit tight for a minute. We're almost through." She pressed her jacket tighter on Tony's wound, her tears falling on it as she did.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. If he died in her arms, she'd never forgive herself.

There was a bang and a crumbling sound, and Pepper dashed between Tony's prone form and the pile of concrete that had just crumbled downwards. She was sorry she dropped that pipe. Unbidden, her hands came up in a defensive position, ready to protect the one person she cared about more than anyone else on Earth.

A red, white and blue form dropped into the tunnel, like the most patriotic angel she'd ever seen. Pepper sagged in relief, falling back onto her backside. The dizziness was returning full force with the knowledge that Steve equaled safety. Clint was right behind him, and both hurried over to the pair of them. "Tony," she panted. "Take Tony first."

Pepper's eyes followed Steve as he briefly inspected Tony, his face looking decidedly grim. Clint was inspecting her. His hand pressed gently on her thigh, over the blood on her skirt. "It's not mine," she fell forward, and Clint's hands were on her shoulders holding her up.

"This is," he said, moving one hand to her forehead. His touch stung and she pulled away. "Sorry," he mumbled. But her attention was focused on the blue blur carrying Tony up through the rubble.

_Let him be okay,_ she thought. Blackness was starting to encroach on her vision. She distantly heard Clint calling her name, and could only hope Tony was safe.

There would be hell to pay if he wasn't.

_***AV***_

Pepper's next conscious thought was how she hated hospitals. Tony was in and out of them so often since his stint as Iron Man began. She moved, realizing there was a sheet covering her. That was strange.

It took another moment before she realized with a flash of panic that _she_ was the one in the hospital. She struggled to get her eyes open, taking stock of the dull ache all over her body and the stinging pain in the souls of her feet. As she returned more to consciousness, her head pounded with more insistence. What had happened?

_Something painful, that's what,_ she snapped at herself. This was shortly followed by a question that seemed to dominate her life, _Where was Tony?_

She turned her head which felt like lead, towards the bed next to hers. Tony was in it, smiling softly at her. "Betcha didn't expect me to wake up…'fore you," he whispered.

That smile always melted her heart, but she rolled her eyes at him. It hurt. But it was worth it. "You almost _died_," she slurred back. It sounded far less intimidating than her usual self.

Tony's face softened as he reached across the gap between their beds, doing his best to entwine sluggish fingers through hers. "Sorry," he said seriously. He brought their hands to his lips and gently kissed the back of hers.

"Oh, Tony," she said exasperated. "When are going to stop throwing yourself over dames?"

"When they stop deserving it." He kissed her hand again. "Which you never will. Also," he took in another deep breath. "Dames? You've been spending too much time with Steve."

"It's because he's not busy getting nearly killed all the time."

"What?" Tony said quietly, but incredulously. "He has as many near-death experiences if not more."

"Tony-"

"Thanks," he said quickly. She blinked at him. "You saved my ass. I…I don't…"

"Hey," she said softly, noting his distress. "I'm the one who should be upset. You almost died." She swallowed thickly, remembering his blood all over her hands, her body.

"You shouldn't have to be in that position," he mumbled.

"What position?" She asked incredulously. "To _help_ you? Tony, people are allowed to help you. _I_ am allowed to help you. I love you."

He didn't meet her eyes for a moment, just gave a small smile and huffed. He looked at her, wincing as he shifted in his bed. "You're pretty good at it though."

She leaned back, satisfied. He still held on to her hand. "Of course I am. I've been saving your ass for years."

"Maybe you should be Iron Man." He smiled at her.

"Hmm. No thanks."

"What about just Rescue?"

She smiled.


End file.
